He Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
by Calamity Heart
Summary: The third installment to 'A Fox Demon and a Vampire'. Thoughts about her father has been wracking Seiteki's brain, so she decides to travel to Fuji to meet him. Along the way, she finds love, but at what cost? Read and Review, please!
1. Foxy Skanks and a Vampire

A/N: I scrapped my old idea for the second sequel, so now I'm starting it again, all-new. The original plot was for the group to be the center of a manhunt, but that seemed kind of off, so I got rid of it. So, the last couple of lines of Mother Knows Best, ignore those. ^^

* * *

"Tenshu, you're being selfish! You know that to be a queen I need MORE than one lover!"

"Then who's the selfish one? You broke my heart just to fuel your twisted agenda!"

A young Megami was heatedly arguing with a tall, silver-haired man, whose powerful emotion had caused his nine silver tails to emerge. Nearby, a tiny infant kitsune watched with fearful eyes.

"Please, Tenshu. Don't leave! It wasn't my intention to hurt you! I was just-"

"Just looking out for number one, huh?" Tenshu finished coldly.

"It's not like that!" Megami blubbered, stomping on the ground.

"I'm leaving." Tenshu said, turning and walking to the door.

"Wait, Tenshu! Where are you going?"

"Why does it matter? You're not coming with me."

"Why not? I love you, Tenshu. I can't live without you!" Megami said, her voice dropping to but a whisper.

"More lies!" Tenshu screamed, fire literally shooting out of his eyes.

"Tenshu, you have to believe me." Megami said, her voice drowned out by her tears.

"Oh, right. Just like I HAD to believe that that bastard who kept coming over was 'just a friend'. Or the 'acquaintance', whose house you stayed over at the week before? Oh, I've got a good one. How about the 'colleague' who called you when we accidentally switched cell phones? I picked up, and the first thing he said was, 'Hey. Are we still on for tonight?'"

Megami's voice caught in her throat, and she was rendered silent.

"I love you, Megami… No, correction. Loved you." Tenshu said, turning and again walking to the door.

"DON'T LEAVE ME!" Megami screeched, running and grabbing tightly onto Tenshu's hand. He turned and swiftly struck Megami, knocking her and her bloody forehead to the ground. The wound healed almost instantly, but Megami still touched her forehead, shocked out of her mind. From the other room, the kitsune infant was crying.

"You're nothing but a dirty little slut. You deserve death. If I weren't in my right mind, I'd kill you myself. But I'll let you kiss karma's ass. No, wait. That won't work, because after five minutes, you'd probably have karma LICKING yours!"

Megami whimpered and crawled forward, clutching Tenshu's pant leg.

"Please… Don't leave…"

Tenshu thirsted his foot away from his ex-wife and walked out of the door. Megami buried her nose into the ground and began to cry wildly.

*end flashback*

"Then she told me that a couple of days later, he died. My mother told me the story a little before I came to Yokai Academy. It was a way of telling me to be absolutely certain that when I find a man, he doesn't find out about any secondary affairs." Seiteki said, part of the circle of pajama-clad friends sitting in Tsukune's room.

"But of course, I'd never do that to YOU, Tsukune."

Seiteki leaned in and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Of course you wouldn't. Because Tsukune's not going to end up with you." Mizore said with an icy glimmer in her eye.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, ice woman. I'm only playing with him." Seiteki said, leaning away.

"I think it was a nice story, Seiteki. A little bit sad, though." Moka commented.

"I say that the bitch had exactly what she had coming to her." Kurumu said.

"Hey, I resent that." Seiteki replied, pointing at Kurumu. "Sure, she got what she deserved, and sure, she's a bitch, but she's still my mother."

"My mother's a slutty sex addict, too. What's your point?"

"All I'm saying is, she just died, in case you forgot. And even though I despised her for manipulating me, at the very end of it all, I loved her, deep, deep, deep, deep on the inside."

"Seiteki, were you wanting to go and maybe meet your father?" Tsukune asked.

"Maybe. I'm still not emotionally certain."

"Why?"

"It's because of what my mom said. She told me that my father was cruel and abusive. She even said that when Dad found out about the affairs, he threatened to kill ME."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Mizore inquired, rolling her eyes. "You said yourself that Megami was a twisted manipulator. She'd say anything to get someone on her good side."

"True, but there's still the slight chance that she could have been right. And even if she lied, what if he doesn't welcome me?"

"You're his daughter! Of course he'll welcome you!" Moka said.

"Look at me, Moka. You see Seiteki when you look at my face, but what is my father going to see? He's going to see my mother in me. I'm her spitting image!"

"Well, you're going to have to go eventually. School will start again soon. And where are you going to go at the end of THAT school year?" Kurumu questioned.

"Umm… I could come back here? If that's alright with you, Tsukune!" Seiteki said, bowing her head to him.

"Forgive me if this hurts your feelings. I took you in this summer only because you had no other place to go. Here's an opportunity for you to find roots. In two senses of the word."

Seiteki sighed. "You're forgiven. But what if he's found another wife and had kids with her? Worse! What if she's h-human?"

"I really don't see what the problem is in this scenario. Any mother is a step up from Megami. And wouldn't it be fun to have siblings who aren't evil by pure nature?"

"Siblings! I knew I forgot something! I still haven't told my brothers and sisters about Mom! Arata has to know that she's in charge!" Seiteki said, standing and reaching for her clothes.

"Can't you do it tomorrow? Or at least after our conversation?"

"Come on with me. We can walk and talk." Seiteki said, struggling to get her head into her T-shirt.

xxx

The collection of yokai piled into the elevator at the record studio under construction.

"They stop working at night? So unprofessional." Seiteki said as the doors closed. She pressed the Floor -1 button below the key panel and the elevator screamed down to the Underworld.

"Oh, God." Mizore said as the elevator doors opened and the intense heat hit her in the face.

"The elevator has air conditioning. Just stay here until we get back." Seiteki said to Mizore as she and her remaining friends walked out.

After walking through a twisting, winding maze of rocks, lava, and teenagers, the tired posse finally reached one door. Seiteki knocked on it.

"Arata?"

There was silence behind the door.

"Arata, open this door!"

Seiteki grew one fox ear and pressed it to the door.

"Shh! Maybe if we stay quiet, she'll go away." was the quiet voice behind it.

"Arata, I know you're in there! Which brother are you banging this time?" she said, trying to force the door open.

"What do you mean by that?" Moka asked.

"Arata is a sex addict. But she can't leave the Underworld, so she resorts to having sex with her siblings. Kenage has sired at least half of her full litter."

"Incest? That's horrible and disgusting!' Kurumu said.

"Maybe by your standards. Incest within kitsune families is pretty normal. Arata! Get your ass out here!" Seiteki screamed, punching the door, causing it to splinter slightly. She also heard a tiny click, which made whoever was inside gasp.

Seiteki realized that she made the lock jump and quickly opened the door, gasping at the sight she saw.

Two girls, both who looked no more than sixteen, were laying on top of each other, completely nude, both decidedly shocked at Seiteki's presence.

"Ishi, is that you?" Seiteki asked the brunette girl, who shrugged away, looking ashamed.

"What happened, Arata? Sex with your brothers get too weird?" Seiteki began to scold the silver-haired girl. "I can accept just plain old incest, but LESBIAN INCEST? That's just shameful."

"Excuse me for a second." Arata told Ishi before standing and quickly throwing on a towel. She then walked up to Seiteki and pushed her out of the door.

"Seiteki, calm down for a second."

"Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down when I'm about to have a stroke?"

"It's a social experiment."

"'Who Screws Better, Brothers or Sisters?' by Arata Debiru." Seiteki mocked.

"No, no. It's not like- Well, hello there." Arata said, shifting her gaze to someone else. Lust filled her eyes as she walked toward Tsukune, who smiled sheepishly, but the smile turned to surprise when Arata walked right past him and began to rub Moka's neck.

"Where have you been hiding all my life?" Arata flirted.

"Uhh… You see, I'm… not that kind of…" Moka stammered finding it hard to speak through Arata rubbing and touching every part of her body.

"Oh, you don't have to say anymore, sweetie. You're a beginner, like me, right?"

"Moka's not a lesbian, okay?" Kurumu said, pushing Arata away.

"What about you? Since you're defending her so… vigorously." Arata said.

"You're embarrassing yourself, and you're embarrassing me, you little bitch." Seiteki scolded, striking Arata with a rolled-up piece of paper several times.

"Stop it! That's degrading! I'm not a dog!' Arata protested, taking the paper and ripping it.

"Oh, really? You sure are acting like one. I still don't know why Mom put you in charge. Leadership-type, my plushy ass."

"What? Mom put me in charge? In charge of what?"

"The kingdom. Mom's dead, and I'm not staying here, so you're in charge."

"What about the twins?"

"They're dead, too, but that's not the point? Do you accept it or not?"

"Well, yeah! I've been told I'm a leader in some circles."

"And what circles are those? Incest Anonymous? No Slut Left Behind?"

"Seiteki, do you have anymore business here?"

"No, I'm leaving now. Just remember to lick your plate when you're done with it. You don't want to leave any crusted stains, do you?" Seiteki insulted as she walked back down the hall. "And tell Ishi that I love the new boob job. I wonder which one of you suggested THAT little operation?"

Arata growled, then walked back into her room, threw off her towel, then closed the near-broken door behind her.

* * *

A/N: I have a new policy with my FanFictions. In an attempt to get more comments, I won't continue the story until I have at least one comment per chapter. If you like the story and want it to continue, comment! Tell me if it's good, your favorite parts, or what I can do to make it even better! Not that hard! :P


	2. Conversation and a Vampire

"So how are we getting to Fuji?" Seiteki asked. As the walked down the lava-soaked corridors.

"Shouldn't you know these things?" Kurumu asked.

"I should, but since I don't, there's a problem, isn't there?"

"Fuji is a pretty big neighborhood…" Tsukune commented.

"Point?" Seiteki asked.

"What if your father moved there for the sole purpose of not being found?"

"No fair! I'm supposed to be the one who worries about that kind of thing!" Seiteki nagged, then her brain began to work.

"Why are YOU concerned about my business so much?"

"Because you're my friend. Why else?"

"Yeah, Tsukune. Why else?" Kurumu said with a pouty frown directed at Seiteki.

Bringing up the far rear was Moka, who was detached from the conversation and instead found time to talk to herself.

"I don't know what to do, Inner Me. Seiteki is pulling Tsukune away from me."

"_Then fight back. Tsukune is not going to just fall into your arms anymore. You have competition now. Compete!"_ Moka's inner self said through the rosario.

Moka nodded and with her nerves steeled, she ran up to Tsukune.

"So! What are you guys talking about?" she asked heartily.

"Um… Just general conversing. Nothing really that special." Kurumu responded.

"Oh. Okay… Can I join in?"

"You kind of already are, but sure, I'll humor you. So, Tsukune. Are you SURE there's no other reason you'd be concerned about Seiteki's business?"

"Yeah, Tsukune! Are you SUUUURE?" Moka followed.

Seiteki furled her eyebrows.

"Um… Err…" Tsukune stammered, made uncomfortable by Moka's sudden advance. "I guess?"

"Are you asking us or telling us?" Kurumu challenged.

"Uh… Telling you?"

Kurumu gave Tsukune a hard look.

"Telling you." he repeated, without the interrogative tone.

"So what's going on with you and Seiteki that we brought up this subject?" Moka asked Tsukune.

"I was concerned about Fuji. It's a big place, and Seiteki's father may not want to be found."

"I totally agree with you!" Moka said.

"Huh?"

"_No! No! No! Don't be a yes woman!" said Inner Moka._

"I mean, no! I think that's a BAD idea!" Moka said, beginning to panic.

"No offense, Moka, but what are you talking about?"

"What are YOU talking about?"

"_You don't throw questions back at people when you're trying to talk to them! He's not interrogating you!"_

"No, no! I mean, I'm sorry. Let's start over."

"_Fall back! FALL BACK!"_

"Excuse me for a second." Moka said awkwardly as she retreated back to her original position at the far rear.

"_What the hell is wrong with you?"_ Inner Moka scolded.

"I'm sorry. I'm not good at this. Usually, it's Tsukune initiating conversation with ME."

"_It's not just that. You're getting too competitive too quickly. Do you see Seiteki in Tsukune's bubble?"_

"Tsukune has a bubble?" Moka wondered, looking around for it.

"_It's a slang term. It means his personal space."_

"Since when do you use slang? And when did you have time to learn it?"

"_I've picked up a few things from being forced to listen to those degenerated scabs at the Academy. Now, listen closely. Go back up there and repeat everything I say, exactly how I say it."_

Moka nodded as she listened to her inner self, then confidently walked back up to Tsukune.

"Hello! Sorry about earlier. The heat in here is dreadful."

"I know…" Kurumu said. "All of my make-up is washing away."

Kurumu touched above her eye and looked at the dark, wet mascara spot that had emerged.

"So, Tsukune. What were you saying about Fuji?" Moka asked.

"That it's a…really big place?"

"Yes, yes. That shouldn't be a big issue. I'm sure that you'd do anything to help Seiteki, wouldn't you?"

For a moment, an expression crossed Seiteki's face that was almost unreadable, but the glowing red eye centered in the rosario noticed the look and chuckled. Then Inner Moka began to direct her Outer form again.

"You seem troubled, Seiteki. Is there anything YOU'D like to talk about?" Moka asked.

"…" Seiteki hummed, thinking. "Nah. I'm all chatted out."

"_One point."_ Inner Moka said victoriously.

"One point." Outer Moka repeated.

"What?" Tsukune asked.

"_What?"_

"What?" Moka repeated again. "Sorry. My mind was somewhere else. Silly me."

By the time the clique's conversation had drawn to a close, they had reached the elevator. When Seiteki opened the doors, she furled her eyebrows. The elevator was completely empty.

"Um, am I missing something, or are we missing something?" Seiteki queried.

"Where's Mizore?" Kurumu followed.

Seiteki looked up and saw the elevator AC, then saw a thin wisp of smoke and a spark jump from it. Then she looked down and saw a light green lollipop floating in a tiny pool of water that had almost completely drained into the grate on the bottom of the elevator. Seiteki also noticed crudely drawn words, written with water. Looking closely at it for several seconds, Seiteki realized that it spelled 'DAMN DIRTY LIAR'.

"Oh, man. Mizore melted." she growled frustratedly. "I should have checked the AC before I assured her that it was working."

"Is there any place where she can reform?" Moka asked.

Seiteki gave her a stupid look. "We're in hell, Moka. Do you really think there's a square millimeter of this place cold enough for Mizore to reform herself? She may have already evaporated."

The whole of the elevator became depressed, lowering their heads in mourning.

"Well, don't count on MY word!"

"How low does this elevator go, anyway?" Kurumu asked, reaching a long, thin nail down the grate and continuing to extend it until she hit ground. "About 50 feet."

"Well let's go! The more time we spend here, the less of Mizore we can salvage!" Seiteki bellowed, ripping the large grate out of the elevator and leaping through. Kurumu leaped after her.

"Uh, I don't think I can do this." Tsukune stammered, backing away from the hole.

"Tsukune, do you mind taking my Rosario for a moment?" Moka asked

"Not really, why?" Tsukune said, detaching Moka's rosario from her neck. She took her Inner form and lifted Tsukune into the air.

"Oh, you clueless bastard. You have a LOT to learn." Moka said before throwing Tsukune down the hole before jumping through right after him.

xxx

"Dirty, fucking, rotten, lying, sonovabitch, goddamn rat bastard." Mizore hissed to Seiteki as she hobbled down the street.

"I'm sorry. How was I supposed to know that the AC was broken?"

"I don't know, look up?" Mizore sassed.

After collecting what little water they could from the slum pit of the elevator and freezing it, the rest of the group were able to reform Mizore's torso, one arm and one leg, about half of her face and an ear. And she was half the size she used to be.

"So, how does it feel to be a icicle zombie?" Seiteki asked.

"There's an airy feeling where my other limbs used to be, and if I had proper motor function in the one foot I DO have, you can bet on your mom's grave, it'd be up your ass."

"Jeez. Calm down. I bet it wasn't THAT bad."

"Have you ever watched yourself melt, then drain down a grate into a repugnant pseudo-gutter? Trust me on this, IT'S THAT BAD!"

The argument continued into Tsukune's house.

"EEEEEEKKK!" screamed Tsukune's mother once she saw the state that Mizore was in, then just as quickly fainted.

"It's all a dream." Mizore said, nodding toward Tsukune's mom, then hobbling toward the freezer. In her shrunken state, Mizore found it easy to climb into the freezer.

"I'll be back to normal by morning. Goodnight, you guys." she said.

"What happens if my mom opens the freezer and sees you before you completely reform?" Tsukune asked.

"If she doesn't immediately have a stroke, heart attack, aneurysm burst, or all of the above, she'd be okay after a couple of unconscious minutes from the inevitable fainting spell."

"Good enough for me. Goodnight." Tsukune said.

A/N: Sorry that the first chapters are kind of short. I've had to rethink this entire storyboard since I scrapped the old idea. I promise that it'll get longer soon.


	3. War and a Vampire

In a modest house within a Fuji suburb, a man with silver flowing hair sat on a sofa, reading a news paper while his two children watched TV. Nearby, an apron-clad woman stood before a stove, cooking bacon and eggs.

"How many strips do you want, hon?" the woman asked.

"Way more than I've been getting." the man said.

"I meant strips of bacon, Tenshu."

"Oh. Three, then."

"Coming right up."

"You know, Naiya, I'd make breakfast for YOU once in a while, if you'd let me."

"It's the least I could do. You're the one always working to pay the rent and the bills. I can barely keep a job for more than a week."

"And you're the one cooking, cleaning, and taking the kids to school. Do you really want to compete?" Tenshu asked, raising an eyebrow amusedly at Naiya.

The redhead housewife smiled, then brought a plate to Tenshu. The doorbell rang and Naiya walked down the short hallway to answer.

"Hello?" she said, opening the door to three tall men with short black hair and bloodshot eyes that she didn't notice at first sight.

"Is this the Debiru residence? Are you Naiya Debiru?" one man asked.

"Yes I am. Are you friends of my husband?"

"What's going on, honey?" Tenshu asked, glancing out at who Naiya was talking to. He gasped when he saw them. "Naiya! Get away from them! Hurry!"

Tenshu stood and sprinted to the door.

One man lifted Naiya into the air and threw her over his shoulder.

"Eek! Tenshu, help me!"

"Get the children." another man said to the one beside him. He nodded and walked inside the house, toward the children, who backed away fearfully.

"Don't you touch my kids!" Tenshu growled, punching the assailant and sending him to the ground. The man who carried Naiya walked out with the young woman screaming all the way. The remaining man ran and grabbed Tenshu's neck. The kidnapper that Tenshu punched stood and grabbed the two children before they could run away.

"Daddy! Daddy, help us! Please!" the children bawled as they were carried out.

Tenshu gasped for air, unable to breathe. The man who had a death grip on his neck stared sharply into Tenshu's eyes.

"The Master has identified that trying to kill you directly will not work, so he sends this message, 'If you want to see your wife alive again, you will come alone to the warehouse at this address, two days from today.'"

The man slipped a piece of paper into Tenshu's shirt pocket. Tenshu tried to speak, but all that came out were cracked wheezes, so the assailant lessened his grip.

"What about my kids?"

"The two children are questionable, We are not sure if they are predominantly human or predominantly kitsune."

"They're human."

"Of course we're going to take YOUR word for it."

"Who's word ARE you going to take?"

"No words. A DNA test will do just fine. Good day, Mr. Debiru."

The man let go of Tenshu and began to walk toward the door, but the silver-haired kitsune stopped him.

"Why are you forcing me to wait for two days?"

"I'm not forcing you. You can come whenever you want. But if you don't come within two days, your family will die."

"Why? Why give me an extra day? This doesn't make any sense!"

"The extra day is to give you time to think about whether your own life or the life of your family is more important to you. Given the result of your last marriage, we think it could go either way."

Tenshu was silent and he let the man go. He walked out of the house and closed the door behind him, leaving Tenshu to stare around at his now-empty home.

(hours earlier)

Tsukune was laying on his bed, trying to go to sleep, while Seiteki was laying beside him, already snoring soundly.

Tsukune found that he couldn't sleep, and even more disturbing, he found that his eyes were continuing to travel to Seiteki.

'Ugn… I can't stop thinking about her. We've been spending so much more time together, and she's not crazy anymore, or detached. I like the new Seiteki. I think I love this new Seiteki. No, no! What am I thinking? I've been in love with Moka for so long, these new feelings confuse me. But do I? Do I love Seiteki?'

"Tsukune? Are you still awake?" Seiteki asked, which caused Tsukune to jump, sitting straight up.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. What's wrong?" Seiteki asked, sitting up with him.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking."

"I can tell. My ears feel really warm. I know what that sign means, but I want to hear it from you. I love you. I KNOW I love you. How do you feel about me, Tsukune? No more joking around with this." Seiteki said with a serious expression.

'How do I feel? Do I love Seiteki or Moka?' Tsukune thought, his confusion growing.

"My ears suddenly became airy. You're confused." Seiteki pointed out. "You don't mind if I help you with your decision, do you?"

Seiteki leaned in closer, until their lips were mere inches apart.

Almost without knowing it, Tsukune said, "Yes."

Seiteki looked hurt and almost heartbroken.

"Seiteki, I'm sorry. I like you both you and Moka, and I like the others, too. But I'm still not ready to choose."

"I see." Seiteki said softly, with obvious hurt in her voice.

"Please don't feel bad, Seiteki."

"How can I not feel bad when I just realized that my feelings for you are one-sided? That's not something I can just let go of and move on."

"I'm sorry, but I need a little more time."

"How much time?"

"I don't know."

"Well, let me know when you figure it out. Goodnight." Seiteki said, laying down again and turning away from Tsukune.

He sighed and laid down again as well, oddly finding it no easier to go to sleep. From outside, Moka watched, careful not to be seen.

"_That lowlife bitch."_ Inner Moka seethed.

"Calm down, Inner. It wasn't that bad. He didn't choose her, so we still have a chance.

"_Yes, but now he's been pressured towards Seiteki. What are we going to do about that?"_

"I don't know, but we're going to figure it out."

"_You sound so confident. What if we don't succeed and Tsukune ends up choosing Seiteki over us?"_

Outer Moka was silent.

The next morning, Moka walked up to the door to answer a knock. She was surprised at who was there.

"Akuha?"

"Hello, Moka."

"Uh, hi. What are you doing here, not that I don't want you here."

"I came for you. Father has ordered you to return to the Shuzen Manor. In the hours when he left to assist you in eliminating Megami Debiru, the war had escalated in Fuji.

"Fuji?" Seiteki asked, appearing at the doorway.

Akuha's eyes widened slightly when she saw Seiteki. She thrust her hand forward, stabbing her nails completely through Seiteki's neck.

The kitsune began to gag and clutch at her throat. Moka covered her mouth and backed away as her friend and love rival convulsed, then crumpled to the floor.

"Well, that's one less of those horrible-" Akuha started, but was cut off when Seiteki jumped up and kicked Akuha in the face, knocking her out of the door and onto the street.

"Damn!" Seiteki hissed, rubbing her neck where the wounds once were. "Warn a sister before you do that!"

"Why are you not dead?" Akuha demanded, standing to confront Seiteki again.

"I'm a kitsune. Gunshots tickle and knives feel like paper cuts. You must not have tried to kill a kitsune before. Speaking of which, why are you trying to kill me?"

"For months now, the Shuzen family and the Debiru family have been at odds with each other. Now it has escalated into a full-scale war. We plan to wipe every living kitsune from Japan."

"Jeez, what happened? Did a Shuzen-Debiru affair end badly?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I'd go into further detail, but you won't live long enough for it to matter!"

Akuha jumped toward Seiteki and threw a powerful fist into her stomach before throwing her into the ground and lifting her foot to step on her head. Seiteki rolled out of the way before she could be smashed.

"Akuha! Stop! She's a friend! She has nothing to do with whatever war you're talking about!" Moka said, grabbing her sister's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter what she has to do with the war. I have my orders. Kill any kitsune that I come across."

"Well, don't hold back on HER account." Seiteki said, brushing herself off before growing her fox features.

"I wasn't planning to." Akuha said, taking a stance that seemed unfamiliar to Seiteki.

"I'm sorry, are you Chinese?"

"Raised in China. I can fight like you've never seen."

Akuha sprinted forward, faster that Seiteki had ever seen. She just managed to duck before Akuha shoved her nails into her head. Seiteki couldn't attack in her position, so she just grabbed Akuha's arm and catapulted her into the house wall.

"Why can't I move?" Seiteki asked herself when she found that she was unable to straighten her back. Her muscles felt like they were being crushed and ripped apart at the same time.

"Chinese combat acupressure. While you were distracted with the hand that was striking your face, I used the other hand to strike nerves on your legs and lower back. You're stuck in that position until someone moves you." Akuha explained, standing and wiping the dust off of her shoulder.

"I'm guessing YOU'RE going to be the one who moves me?"

"Correct." Akuha said, having dashed forward and lifted a leg high into the air, bringing it down on Seiteki's defenseless torso.

The street underneath Seiteki began to crumble apart as she was bashed into the earth. A mass of blood mixed with stomach acids and saliva flew out of Seiteki's mouth and she began to shiver.

"Hm. Kitsune seem to have a tender area between their ribs." Akuha said, shoving her foot deeper into Seiteki's skin. "I will have to make note of that. Are there any other weaknesses that I should know about?"

"Akuha! Stop this, now!" Moka said, grabbing Akuha's arm

"Of course I'll stop. Right after she's dead."

"Don't kill her! Alright, fine. I'll join you if you stop!"

"Moka…" Seiteki wheezed on the ground.

"Well, that would be counter-productive, wouldn't it? You join a war against the kitsune on the deal that I not kill THIS particular kitsune? Sorry, Moka, but I can't agree to that. She dies, and I'm TAKING you with me."

Akuha looked back at Seiteki and noticed that she was gone, and Akuha was shoving her foot into the ground. She felt a tap on her shoulder and thought that Moka wanted to talk to her again, so she turned around and met Seiteki's fox-fired fist, which sent her careening into a light pole.

Akuha shivered as a painful tingling fell down her spine. She found it hard to move as the muscles in her back began to seize up.

"Hm. You are much more powerful than I had first anticipated. I was not prepared for something like this. I am forced to retreat today, but by this time, Kahlua may have already completed her mission."

"And what was that?"

"Go home and find out." Akuha said, standing and stretching her back out. She walked down the street, toward the tunnel that led to the yokai world.

"What do you mean by that?" Seiteki screamed before Akuha disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

"She said go home and find out." Moka said, looking back at Tsukune's house.

"Not that home… MY home!" Seiteki yelled, running toward the city and the record studio.

"Seiteki, wait!" Moka called.

She chased Seiteki all the way to the recording studio, but the faster blonde beat her to the elevator, and Moka had to take the next one down.

"Seiteki!" Moka called, running up to her. Seiteki appeared to be frozen solid. She had a 'broken' look in her eye, and her jaw had dropped. Moka followed Seiteki's eyes, and gasped.

The corridor had opened up into a large pavilion-like room, where hundreds of bodies were swimming in an ocean of blood. There were bodies of teenagers, young children, and even bodies that looked like toddlers, but all of the bodies had one thing in common. They all were too mutilated to identify. Almost every corpse's face was ripped off completely, and if it wasn't ripped off, it was separated from its respective body. Seiteki's eyes slowly crossed the pavilion, until it came to a stalagmite, where a head was driven through it.

"Arata." Seiteki identified.

"Seiteki, I'm so sorry."

"T-They're all dead… Who?"

"This must have been Kahlua's work."

"Why? Most of these kitsune were children. Some of these children were MY children. No older than 100 years. And she just murdered them all, like they were nothing."

"It's because of the war-"

"FUCK THE WAR! This is personal now!" Seiteki yelled, stomping on the ground with tears flowing from her eyes. "They've taken this too far. Killing innocent children that were too young to comprehend."

Seiteki looked around again, then realized something.

"I'm the last child. I'm the last pureblood Debiru child. How long will it be before the Shuzen family kills off my aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews, or nieces? How long before they find my father?"

"We have to go now and find him quickly if we want to find out. I'll call Kurumu and Mizore. Can you go and get Tsukune?"

"I guess. There's nothing more we can do here." Seiteki said, turning and running back toward the elevator without looking back again.

Tenshu sat on the couch of his house, taking a big swig of the bottle of fine brew in his hand. The alcohol made him spontaneously hiccup and caused his fox-like features to appear. While he still had his cognitive functions, he thought about what the men had said to him.

"There's no doubt about it. Those bastards were vampires. But why go through all of this trouble for an affair that took a horrible turn? Those Shuzen scumbags always throw things way out of proportion."

Tenshu stood and picked up a picture of Naiya that was slightly broken in the scuffle that had occurred only an hour before.

"And I'm the only one who can set things straight, but if I do, my wife… My children…"

In a fit of confusion and rage, and slight drunkenness, Tenshu threw the picture to the ground, smashing it into several sharp shards.

"What am I going to do? I could end this war and move on without my family, or I can save them and risk causing the extinction of my race."

Tenshu clutched his head, trying to clear the rattling thoughts that pounded his head. He wasn't sure if it was the jumbled thoughts or the growing hangover that was causing his headache, which only made the headache grow worse.

Tenshu sat on his couch again. "I have to sleep on this. Maybe my mind will be clearer later." he said, closing his eyes. But as he expected, he found it impossible to fall asleep.


	4. A Train Trip and a Vampire

"All aboard! Last train of the day, going to Fuji!" called the stationmaster.

A young man wearing a black hoodie, with his hood on, stalked through the station, toward the train to Fuji. Just barely flashing under his hood were traces of brown and blonde hair. He had his eyes locked on one specific window of the train he was about to board.

"Excuse me, sir-" the stationmaster started, but stopped when the boy showed his ticket to him. He stepped onto the train, just as it started moving. The boy moved around the train and sat in a seat beside the group he was watching.

Tsukune and the others managed to find a train car that was completely empty.

"Why did we have to take the train? I hate public transportation." Kurumu complained.

"Since Yukari's not here, we don't have any magic to use, and we don't have time to find any. The train was the quickest way to Fuji on such short notice." Tsukune explained.

"And another thing, why are we going to Fuji? Isn't that where this secret war between the vampires and kitsune is going on?"

"Exactly. We're going to go stop that war, for Seiteki and her father's sake."

The hooded young man began to listen intently once the war was mentioned.

"How? Have we thought this through in the least?" Kurumu asked.

"Um… In the least, I guess. Right now, we're focusing on finding my father so I at least know he's still alive. Then we'll see if he can help us with the war." Seiteki said.

"Okay, that's a start, but what if he can't help us?"

"Then we'll take matters into our own hands. We'll find the bastard vampire who's coordinating this and beat some sense into him."

"Maybe we should be a little less rash." Moka said.

"Why?"

"How do we know that it's the fault of the vampires?"

"What are you suggesting?"

'Yes, what?' the young man thought with interest.

"Maybe the kitsune started this war. I'm just saying that we should keep both possibilities considered as we plan this."

Seiteki scowled, but nodded begrudgingly. "I guess so."

"Besides, the kitsune are naturally mischievous and naughty. I wouldn't be surprised if they DID start the war." Moka said without thinking. Inner Moka mentally slapped her head.

"Okay, you've crossed a line." Seiteki said, standing and leaning toward Moka and snorting smoke. "Which race almost destroyed mankind because they thought that they were better than everybody else? **I** wouldn't be surprised if they were making a second attempt at wiping out a race that they felt was inferior."

"Now, that's not fair! Alucard was mentally insane. And he wasn't TECHNICALLY a vampire!" Moka defended. "Which one of us is part of a race of sluts and rapists?"

"Are you calling me a slut?" Seiteki challenged, fox fire burning in her eyes.

"And a rapist, I think." Mizore chimed in.

Moka leaned back in her seat, realizing that she had crossed another line.

"_You can't back down. If she knows that you can't hold yourself up in fights like this, she can just take Tsukune." _Inner Moka said.

'But I CAN'T hold myself up in fights like this!" Outer Moka thought.

"_That's okay. I'll help you. Just repeat everything I say."_

Moka steeled her nerves and tried to match Seiteki's evil glare, which was very hard to do, especially for Moka.

"What if I am? I wouldn't be wrong!"

"Ooh!" Kurumu spectated.

"What gives YOU the right to call me a slut?" Seiteki defended, somewhat surprised at Moka's sudden burst of courage.

"Well, for one, I still HAVE my virginity."

"Ouch." Tsukune whispered.

"That still gives you no right! YOU don't know how many people I've slept with." Seiteki tried to defended, but realized too late that her sentence came out incorrectly.

"You're right. And I probably can't guess, either. Too many zeros." Moka said.

"Damn!" Mizore exclaimed.

"That's it! I don't have to take this!" Seiteki growled, standing from her seat.

"Seiteki, where are you going?" Tsukune asked.

"Like YOU care!" the angry kitsune retaliated.

As Seiteki left to cross to another car, the young man who was listening stood and followed her.

"Moka…" Tsukune started.

"I know, that was out of line. But she had no right to blame the vampires for this." Moka said, still repeating what Inner Moka said.

"Neither of you had any right to resort to racism."

"So it's just as much Seiteki's fault?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then I don't see what the problem is. I'll go and find her if you want me to."

"No, that's okay. Let her blow off some steam."

"_See? It's working. At this rate, Tsukune will choose you for sure."_ Inner Moka declared proudly.

'I don't know. I think I really hurt Seiteki's feelings.' Moka thought. 'We may be competing for Tsukune, but she's still my friend, just like Mizore and Kurumu.'

"Hey, did anyone else notice that guy that was sitting over there a minute ago?" Kurumu asked.

"There was a guy over there? I thought this car was empty." Tsukune said.

"I though it was too, but as Seiteki left, I thought I saw someone follow her. Must've been my imagination."

xxx

Seiteki growled as she walked through another car, which was much more crowded then the previous one. She stormed angrily past people, failing to notice the man following him. The man reached out his hand to grab Seiteki's arm, but Seiteki gasped as another young man, dressed similarly to the first lurker, grabbed her first and swiftly brought her to a nearby coat closet, covering her mouth so she didn't scream. The train was so crowded and filled with conversation, that no one really noticed, and the first stalker was unable to locate them.

"Shh. I'll let you go if you promise not to scream. If you agree, just nod your head." the man said.

Seiteki slowly nodded, and the man released her. "Who the hell are you?" she seethed silently.

"I'm your son. Masurao."

"What? I'm sixteen. I'm not even married."

"Don't try to lie. I know exactly who you are, kitsune."

"What kind of yokai are you?"

Masurao closed his eyes, a sign of rapidly declining patience.

"I'm a KITSUNE, like you. I'm YOU'RE SON."

Seiteki squinted, then removed the apparent stranger's hood.

"No!" the man whispered, trying to stop Seiteki.

"I knew it! You're no son of mine! In fact, if I knew any better I'd say that you were a vampire." Seiteki hissed, noticing his red bloodshot eyes and fangs.

"Listen to me. I know that I look like a vampire. But trust me, I am Masurao."

"Alright, then prove it."

"I'm exactly 2714 years old. I'm the only boy out of the first three litters, and my hair is naturally dual-colored."

"What colors?"

"Brunette and blonde."

"Okay, I'm interested, but you're going to have to give me more if I'm going to believe you."

"You are Seiteki Debiru, exactly 3592 years old, you are the first born of Megami and Tenshu Debiru, and you have a light pink birthmark on your rear end that's shaped like a peach."

"Which cheek?"

"Right in the center of the left one."

"Oh my God. You really are Masurao." Seiteki said, amazed. "But why do you look like a vampire?"

"Have you ever heard of a Mystic Mirror?"

"Sure. It's a magical item that has a reflective front and back side, which allows you to switch faces with whoever looks into one side of the mirror while you're looking into the other."

"Exactly. It's a spy device that's used to sneak into enemy territory without drawing suspicion."

"But why use that when you can just use magic?"

"Magic isn't permanent. Unless I get the person with MY face to look back into the mirror with me, I'm stuck like this."

"Why look into the mirror in the first place?"

"The vampire that has my face took me by surprise. I turned around toward him and didn't know he was holding a Mystic Mirror until it was far too late."

"Do you know where he is?"

"I just saved you from him. He was about to confront you as me, so you would let your guard down. And with all of these people around, a quick murder would be difficult to discern. He still has the mirror."

"How are we going to get that mirror back?"

"I told you already. A quick murder is difficult to discern in this heavy crowd. I'm going to need you to pretend you never met me for just a minute and let him confront you."

"Why? Isn't he planning to kill me?"

"He is, and he's expecting you to think that he's me, so he'll act like your son and will try to 'catch up with you'. Once he pretends to let his guard down, hit him with this."

"Is this a stake?"

"Well, without making it too complex, yes."

"What, is it lined with garlic butter?"

"Clever, but no. It's soaked in something much more effective: holy water. All you have to do is stab him in the chest with this. It'll take effect so fast, he won't even have a chance to scream."

"Are you sure that this will work?"

"No, but it's all we've got."

"Um, alright then."

"Good luck." Masurao said, hugging Seiteki, which turned out to be more awkward than he thought.

Seiteki slowly snuck into the fray of people again, hiding the stake in one of her sleeves.

xxx

In the empty train car, Moka and the others sat, continuing to talk, though Moka seemed a little detached from the conversation.

"_You seem concerned." _Inner Moka said.

'I am. Seiteki's been gone for a long time, now. Should I go look for her and apologize?'

"_Do whatever you think is best. It's not as if I can stop you. But if you do go, don't tell Tsukune exactly where you're going. You have to at least PRETEND to hold your ground against the fox."_

'How did you know that I was going to tell Tsukune?'

"_You act like you and I are complete strangers. I know you, Moka."_

Outer Moka mentally nodded, then stood from her seat.

"I'm going to see if I can find a bathroom."

Moka walked down the empty length of the train car into a small room/compartment. Inside was a very clean ladies restroom with fully stocked toilet paper and an eco-friendly hand dryer.

"This one is out of order." Moka lied, locking the door from the inside before closing it again, so no one else would check. "I'm going to check another car."

Moka walked back toward the other side of the train car and walked out of the door, over a small, very windy trail, then through the door into another car. Moka was completely surprised at the sheer number of people that were pressed into this car.

"_Well, this is a nice change to the ghost car that we just came from." _Inner Moka commented. _"Almost a little too nice."_

"What do you mean?"

"_The change here is just too surreal. There's either something up with this train car, or something up with our train car."_

"Could it be yokai-related?"

"_Most likely, but let's worry about that later. You have some guilt issues to work out first."_

Moka nodded, then began to walk around, looking for Seiteki.

"Can you sense her yokai aura?"

"_Believe it or not, I'm sensing multiple yokai auras. About five, if you don't count the ones in the adjacent train car."_

"Are any of them kitsune?"

"_Two of them are kitsune. Both are very similar to each other. One is moving, however. The other is stationary in one corner of the car."_

"Do you think it's Seiteki, sulking?"

"_The aura in motion seems more likely to be Seitek-" _Inner Moka stopped suddenly.

"What? What is it?"

"_One of the other three unknown auras belong to a vampire."_

Moka's heart fell into her stomach, then she began to glance around.

"I don't see Seiteki."

"_She's straight ahead. Break through this crowd while I know exactly where she is."_

Moka carefully slithered through the maze of bodies, noticing a head of blonde hair walking away from her. Moka reached out to grab Seiteki's arm, but someone else grabbed Moka's arm first.

"Heathen vampire! I will not allow you to lay one hand on my mother!" the unknown man hissed silently.

'Inner Me, who is this? What is his aura?' Moka thought with panic, trying to pull away from the man and fight him off.

"_This is the second kitsune presence, I think. He has the face of a vampire, though."_

Moka stopped resisting for just a moment when she heard Seiteki gasp.

"Masurao! Is that you? Oh, it's been so long!"

"_Damn it! Seiteki is talking to the vampire right now! He must be disguised as someone that Seiteki would recognize. And with this bastard struggling with us, we're screwed."_

"Please, just listen to me!" Moka pleaded.

"The only things that escape the mouths of vampires are lies and degradation." the man said.

"_Bullshit stereotypes." _Inner Moka murmured.

"Prepare to die, evil one!" Moka's assailant said, reaching into his pocket and taking out a wooden stake that glistened with moist.

"_What the hell is he doing with that?" _Inner Moka asked, obviously surprised.

"No!" Moka shouted out loud.

Nearby, Seiteki's ears perked when she heard the yell.

"Moka?"

Seiteki turned around toward the voice. The person she was talking to flashed a pocket knife and pointed it at the back of Seiteki's head.


	5. A Short Pause

I'm putting He Love Me, She Loves Me Not on a short hiatus until further notice. My computer is going through some issues and I'm lucky to be able to even get this notice here. As stated before, it will be a short hiatus until further notice.


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